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Complaint lodged to CB governor over illegal smuggling of dollars: Sinhala Ravaya
The Sinhala Ravaya has forwarded a complaint to the Central Bank (CB) Governor, Ajith Nivard Cabraal over a racket that is being operated in the country to smuggle dollar reserves out of the country illegally and nearly 300 such transactions have been made so far, Sinhala Ravaya Head Ven. Akmeemana Dayarathana Thera said.
In his letter the Thero pointed out that according to the general procedure in Sri Lanka, if a student is going to study in a foreign university, he/she should submit the admission letter issued by the relevant university to one of the local banks in the country to pay the relevant course fee.
Thereafter, the said course fee will be paid to the bank account belonging to the university by the local bank, he said.
However, instead of the letter containing the course fees issued by the university, payment was made by US$ by a state bank in Nugegoda based on a letter issued by an education agency operating in Nugegoda.
In his letter, Ven. Dayarathana mentioned that the foreign education institute has transferred the local dollar reserves to an account of its affiliated institution in Russia, citing university course fee.
"We have received information that this foreign educational institution has carried out the racket of transferring Sri Lankan dollar reserves to Russia through the locals who are leaving the country to study at the Tver State Medical University in Russia," the letter said.
Tver State Medical University in Russia charges about US$ 2,750 as tuition per year.
However, a state bank in Nugegoda has illegally transferred the dollar reserves to a bank account maintained by the said institution in Russia, based on a letter from the affiliated Sri Lankan Institute of Foreign Education stating that the course fee for the university is US$ 5,500 per year.
Meanwhile, Tver had requested a formal inquiry be conducted into the matter, he said.
"At a time when Sri Lanka is facing a severe dollar crunch, I urge you to stop such racketeering, bring the racketeers to justice, give maximum punishment and enforce the law against the banks/bank officials who help them, regardless of their rank," the Thero requested in his letter to the CB governor.
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